Through an interdisciplinary range of case studies from across the Northern rim of Europe, this volume shows how place reinvention as a concept affects not only global cities but also marginal regions. Linking place reinvention to the economic, the symbolic and the political production of space, the volume puts forward insights into how 'marginal areas' understand their role in the global competition between places and regions through their branding strategies, playing with representations of the unique and the ordinary, urban and rural, reindustrialization and cultural economy. It also shows how and why some places seem to retain and strengthen their uniqueness, whilst others are losing their local distinctiveness in the struggle to survive.

Contents: Preface; Place reinvention at the Northern rim, Torill Nyseth; The industrial imperative and 2nd(hand) modernity, Karl Benediktsson; Place reinvention by real changed image: the case of Kiruna's spectacular makeover, Kristina L. Nilsson; Kirkenes – a town for miners and ministers, Arvid Viken and Torill Nyseth; Gendered places: cultural economy and gender in processes of place reinvention, Magnfrídur Júlíusdóttir and Yvonne Gunnarsdotter; Creating 'the land of the big fish': a study of rural tourism innovation, Anniken Førde; Constructing the unique – communicating the extreme: dynamics of place marketing, Brynhild Granås; City marketing: the role of the citizens, Krister Olsson and Elin Berglund; Cool and crazy: place reinvention through filmmaking, Gry Paulgaard; Reinventing a place through the origin myth, Turid Moldenæs; Globalized reinvention of indigenuity: the Riddu Riddu festival as a tool for ethnic negotiation of place, Paul Pedersen and Arvid Viken; Reinventing rurality in the North, Mai Camilla Munkejord; The narrative construction of materiality, Arvid Viken and Torill Nyseth; Index.

About the Editor: Torill Nyseth is Associate Professor at the University of Tromsø, Norway. Arvid Viken is Associate Professor at Finnmark College, Norway.

Reviews: 'This significant collection of interdisciplinary case studies takes a penetrating look at the diversity of place reinvention on the Nordic rim. Referencing key global themes, the essays contribute to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of place reinvention in this and other regions. Fresh, acute, and conceptually illuminating the book deserves to be widely read.'
Greg Young, University of Western Sydney, Australia

'This collection of works provides essential reading for those researchers, instructors and students with interests in the concept and production of place in the context of globalization and a new economy. Through studies of "other" places on the "margins" of Europe, the authors convincingly show how 'marginal' in a global world has become an anachronism, whereby every place is a global space. It is timely, rich, and adds to the cannon of work on place and landscape.'
Jeff Hopkins, University of Western Ontario, Canada

'In a fascinating interdisciplinary study, a team of Nordic scholars question how, when and why particular localities experience revitalization and re-imagine their identities. Relying on perspectives from urban studies, cultural studies, rural development, sociology, geography, spatial planning, city marketing, tourism, and gender studies, the authors of this new volume have provided detailed case studies to account for what they refer to as 'place reinvention'.'
Scandinavian Studies

'I would recommend this book to anyone interested in issues of 'place', but particularly to those unfamiliar with the workings of such debate on the Nordic rim.'
Urban Studies

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Full contents list

Preface

Index